Holder for watch movements



March 155 1949. E. ACLARK HOLDER FOR WATCH MOVEMENTS Filed Sept. 4, 1945Patented Mar. 15, 1949 T '-QFFICE Arbor, -Mich.

appneantnfseptemter 4, 1945,- serial-18105614233 (ci. sii- 6) 4 Claims.

struction of'watch movement holder whichia'cilitates a watch repairmanlin vmaking vthe-necessary adjustments and replacements on watchmovements.

Other objects will be more apparent as thedescription of the preferredembodiment proceeds.

In the drawings: Figure l is a top plan view of the work holder;

r-Figure 2 4is a side View partly in-section on theline 2-2-of'Figure 1;and

Figure 3 is a side View of the Awork-holder'in inverted position.

Referring to the drawings, the work-holder comprises four supportingandclamping pins or posts :I 0 adapted tobesimultaneously moved laterallyand longitudinally withrespect to one another in orderto engage theedges of watch movements of diierent sizes. II and I2 represent crossframe members each of which comprises -a central plate i3 having `upperand lower parallel rods Id and Iisecur-ed thereto and projectinglaterally therefrom. Each of the pins Il) is provided withtwoparallelbores I6 and I'I for slidably engaging vthe upper and lower rods I4 randI5 respectively. vEach of the Yrins 'III is alsoip'rovided with upperand lower parallel bores`I9 and l" 20 extending at` an lacute `anglewith respect to the bores IS and II and preferably at about a 60 angle.These latter bores I9 and 20 slidably engage the rods 2I and 22 whichare inclined outwardly from opposite sides of a central work supportingframe 23. This frame contains a series of apertures 24 through which therods 2I and 22 may be inserted, and the rods are retained in position ina suitable manner as by means of the small retaining pins 25. The frame23 is slotted at 2S to receive and swivel the reduced central portion 21of an adjusting screw 28 provided at one end with right-hand threads 29and at the other end with left-hand threads 30. threaded portions engagecorrespondingly threaded apertures in the central plates I3 of the twocross frame members iI and I2 respectively. An adjusting knob 3I issecured to one end of the screw 28 and the center of the screw has en-These `2 larged portions 3'2 vand 33 forming'abutments `on oppositesides of the slotted frame 23.

In the construction as thus Vfar described,' when the screw v2'8 isturned by means of thev adjusting knob, the cross frame members IIandI`2 4are simultaneously moved in opposite ylongitudinal dlrections'and the pins I0 carried thereby `are caused to move bothlongitudinallyand laterally by means of their sliding engagementIWiththe angling rodsZ I and 22. l

Atene4 end of each of lthe pins Withere is :a shoulder '3d and a Centralprojecting portion v35. When it is desired to insert a watch movement318 in the work holder wlth'the movement side upward, the 'watchmovement is placed rv`on the shoulders '3d of the ll-pins I!! withthe"dialisi`d`e 37 resting 'on said shoulders and thepins lllfare" tactwith the balancewheelfof the Watch'mecha-- nism. Hence, I provide thepins lil at thefcppositeends thereof fromthe shoulders '3'4 ywith theconical heads '4U andv I also provide the work holder with a centralsupporting memberf'diwhich, as shown, consists of a'U-shaped memberhaving slotted 4legs d2 embracing the opposite sides'ofthe frame 23. The`top offthe supporting member el lies in a plane which is spaced fromthe conical portions It of the pins at such a distance as to correspondwith the thickness of a watch movement so that when the center of themovement side of the watch movement rests on the support, the peripheraledges of the opposite or dial side of the watch movement engage theconical heads lill. Thus by turning the adjusting knob SI, the pins I@are moved inwardly so that the conical portions engage and clamp saidperipheral portions and not only hold the movement securely in place butalso, by reason of the conical angle, forces the movement downwardlyinto positive engagement with said support.

With the device as described, it will be apparent that it is readilyadapted to secure a watch movement in position with the movement sideupward by clamping between the projections 35 of the pins and where itis desired to support the movement with the opposite side upwardly, theentire work holder is turned over and the movement clamped between theconical pins 4B. Thus it will be readily apparent that I have provided avery simplied work holding mechanism which is adjustable to varioussizes of watch movements and is capable of supporting the same witheither side of the movement in position to be worked on by therepairman.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A holder for a watch movement comprising a central supporting member,a series of rods extending from said supporting member in diagonaldirections, four parallel pins transverse to said rods and slidablyengaging the same, a pair of frames having rods slidably engaging saidpins in a direction transverse to said diagonal rods, an adjusting rodrotatable in said supporting member and threadedly engaging therespective frames of said pair with threads of opposite hands.

2. A holder for watch movements and the like, comprising four cornerposts, a central member between said posts, pairs of rods secured to andon opposite sides of said central member, the rods of each pair beingparallel and having outwardly extending diagonal opposite end portionsslideably engaging transverse bores in said posts, a pair of parallelrods extending transversely to said diagonal rods and slideably engagingbores in said posts which are at an angle to the aforesaid bores, workengaging and clamp-ing means at the end of each post, a rod swiveled insaid central member to extend transversely to said transverse parallelrods and having respectively righthand and left-hand screw threadedopposite end portions, and nuts engaging said screw threaded portionsand respectively attached to said transverse rods whereby a rotation ofsaid screw threaded rod will simultaneously move all of said poststowards or from said central member.

3. A holder for watch movements and the like, comprising four cornerposts, a central member between said posts, pairs of rods secured to andon opposite sides of said central member, the rods of each pair beingparallel and having outwardly extending diagonal opposite end portionsslideably engaging transverse bores in said posts, a pair of parallelrods extending transversely to said diagonal rods and slideably engagingbores in said posts which are at an angle to the aforesaid bores,engaging and clamping means upon opposite ends of each of said posts,for respectively engaging a watch movement in reverse positions thereof,each of said means alternatively constituting a supporting foot for itspost, a rod swiveled in said central member to extend transversely tosaid transverse parallel rods and having respectively right-hand andleft-hand screw threaded opposite end portions, and nuts engaging saidscrew threaded portions and respectively attached to said transverserods whereby a rotation of said screw threaded rod will simultaneouslymove all of said posts towards or from said central member.

4. A holder for watch movements and the like, comprising four cornerposts, a central member between said posts, pairs of rods secured to andon opposite sides of said central member, the rods of each pair beingparallel and having outwardly extending diagonal opposite end portionsslideably engaging transverse bores in said posts, a pair of parallelrods extending transversely to said diagonal rods and slideably engagingbores in said posts which are at an angle to the aforesaid bores, aportion of reduced diameter and restricted length projecting from oneend of each post for engagement with a watch movement when arranged withits face side up, said movement resting on the shoulder beneath saidreduced diameter portion, a reduced diameter portion of greater lengthextending from the opposite end of each post and terminating in aiiaring portion which in the reverse position of the structureconstitutes a Work clamp for the movement With the dial side up, abearing on said central member for supporting the movement in the latterposition, the clamping means at opposite ends of each post alternativelyconstituting supporting feet for the post, a rod swiveled in saidcentral member to extend transversely to said transverse parallel rodsand having respectively right-hand and lefthand screw threaded oppositeend portions, and nuts engaging said screw threaded portions andrespectively attached to said transverse rods whereby a rotation of saidscrew threaded rod will simultaneously move all of said posts towards orfrom said central member.

EDWARD A. CLARK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 488,069 Frink Dec. 13, 1892938,817 Bowers Nov. 2, 1909 1,001,248 Campbell Aug. 22, 1911 2,178,296Argo Oct. 31, 1939 2,366,519 Greenberg Jan. 2, 1945

